Request Postponed

"How are Naruto and Sasuke?"

Kushina stepped forward and asked worriedly. With the commotion just now, and the two boys having fainted outright, there was no way they looked completely fine.

"They’re fine. Their emotions just won’t be affected by those two chakra signatures anymore. Sasuke won’t be so obsessive in the future, and Naruto won’t be so foolish either. I can bring back the dead, so there’s no need to worry."

"Naruto isn’t foolish!" Kushina promptly retorted before immediately checking on Naruto’s condition.

After reassuring the two women, Hyuga Mirai withdrew the Truth-Seeking Orbs into his body. He needed to maintain four of them to seal Indra and Asura’s chakra, so he could not dispel the Truth-Seeking Orbs for the time being.

Even after reincarnating for a thousand years, their chakra had remained so powerful. Hyuga Mirai could only say that the third generation of the Otsutsuki truly lived up to their name—their chakra was innately capable of enduring for ages.

After a while, Uzumaki Naruto and Second Pillar slowly woke up. However, they were still holding hands when they awoke. Only after noticing it at the same time did they fling each other’s hands away in mutual disgust.

"Looks like nothing happened. How do you feel?" Hyuga Mirai walked over to the two and used Yin-Yang Release to sense them. Whether it was their chakra condition or physical condition, neither Naruto nor Sasuke had any major problems.

Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head and grinned. "Other than dreaming about Uncle Mirai and Sasuke just now, I don’t feel anything else."

"Me too," Sasuke said quietly from the side. He only felt a little weak and unable to exert much strength, but since Naruto said he was fine, he did not want to appear weaker than Naruto. Besides, Uncle Mirai had already treated him. He really was fine now.

"That’s good." Hyuga Mirai withdrew his hand, sat back down at the round table, and beckoned to them.

Seeing this, Naruto and Sasuke eagerly sat down at the round table as well. Naruto even energetically reached for the snacks, intending to eat while he listened.

"I gained considerable benefits from the two of you this time. As compensation, each of you can make one request of me. As long as it’s within my capabilities, I can grant it."

Hyuga Mirai said with a light smile. He had essentially taken away Naruto and Sasuke’s future Golden Fingers, so giving them some compensation was only fair.

"Let me remind you: perfectly controlling the Nine-Tails or obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan are both things I can accomplish. Of course, what you want is up to you. All right, you can tell me now."

After Hyuga Mirai said that, Naruto and Sasuke showed little reaction, but Kushina and Mikoto beside them became somewhat excited. The children might not understand how precious the two things Hyuga Mirai had mentioned were, but Kushina and Mikoto understood very clearly.

Even Kushina herself had not achieved perfect control of the Nine-Tails. At most, she could rely on powerful Sealing Techniques to extract Tailed Beast Chakra. Grandma Mito should have been stronger than her, but Kushina did not know whether she had reached the level of a Perfect Jinchuriki. Still, if Naruto could achieve it, he would definitely surpass her.

Uchiha Mikoto, meanwhile, understood the value of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan better. After opening her Mangekyō Sharingan with Hyuga Mirai’s help last time, she had asked him many questions about the Sharingan. Although it was rather strange to consult a Hyuga clansman about the Sharingan, during their subsequent conversations, Mikoto felt that Hyuga Mirai understood the Sharingan even better than the Uchiha themselves.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was an eye technique that ordinary Uchiha clansmen found difficult to awaken. Only Madara Uchiha had possessed such eyes in the past.

Kushina and Mikoto anxiously wanted to agree on Naruto and Sasuke’s behalf, but after Hyuga Mirai gave them a glance, they obediently sat up straight again. Their eyes, however, kept darting toward Naruto and Sasuke, trying to make the boys understand their meaning through eye contact.

"I…"

Uzumaki Naruto thought for a while, then looked up at Hyuga Mirai and asked, "Uncle Mirai, can I save this request for later?"

"Save it? You haven’t decided yet?" Hyuga Mirai glanced at Naruto. "You can. Whenever you figure it out, just come find me."

Kushina could not help speaking up at that moment. "Naruto, let Mom give you a suggestion. You—" Before Kushina could finish, Hyuga Mirai chopped her on the head with his hand and warned her, "Let Naruto think for himself. Don’t interrupt."

Seeing Kushina get warned, Uchiha Mikoto also gave up on speaking. She merely smiled gently at Sasuke.

"I won’t make a request yet. I’ll ask Uncle Mirai later," Uzumaki Naruto said, stealing a glance at Kushina before his tone gradually became firm.

"I’m the same as Naruto. I’ll save this request for later," Sasuke said immediately afterward. It was not that he was following Naruto. He simply felt that even if he surpassed Naruto through power obtained this way, it would not feel like a true victory.

Back in Konoha, Naruto had not been the dead last. Aside from ranking last in the class in academic subjects, he had generally beaten Sasuke seven times out of ten in practical classes. Sasuke only took three. He wanted to surpass Uzumaki Naruto through his own training; otherwise, that guy would still mock him.

Seeing that both had made their decision, Hyuga Mirai could only agree. "All right. Since you’ve both decided, come find me anytime once you’ve thought of something."

That settled today’s matter. Mikoto then asked a few questions about school, and Hyuga Mirai also mentioned that future top graduates would receive a Bloodline Ninja Tool, making Naruto and Sasuke glare at each other competitively.

However, it would truly be somewhat difficult for the two of them to become the top graduate. There was also Gaara, the Kazekage’s disciple, in their class. Besides Shukaku and Karura’s sand protection, Gaara received more education and training than anyone else in the Federation. Whenever Pakura was busy, two Jonin would basically accompany Gaara and his two siblings in their training.

If Gaara competed for top graduate of the Ninja Academy now, he would have a ninety percent chance of winning.

They chatted until noon. After eating at Hyuga Mirai’s place, everyone went their separate ways. Hyuga Mirai, meanwhile, prepared to study Asura and Indra’s chakra while also checking on the progress of other matters.

"Kabuto, bring Kimimaro here."

Not long after Tsunade left the Hokage’s Office, she returned in a furious mood. Yakushi Kabuto initially thought Tsunade had finally found her conscience and was coming back to help him handle the paperwork. Instead, she had merely sent him on an errand.

After leaving the Hokage’s Office, Kabuto began considering asking Orochimaru to transfer him back. Otherwise, his most capable subordinate might die from overwork.

Before long, Kimimaro was summoned. Recently, he had been busy rebuilding Root, and it had begun to take shape. Other than the original Root members and the Sarutobi Clan ninja assigned there, no one else bore Curse Marks.

Tsunade directly told Kimimaro, "Kimimaro, Danzo escaped. I’m giving you a long-term mission: whenever Root goes out to carry out missions in the future, investigate Danzo’s whereabouts as well. Ask the former Root members where Danzo might hide once you return. In any case, you must find him."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama."

After Kimimaro spoke, he saw that Tsunade had no further orders and left to arrange work for the Root ninja.

"Tsunade-sama, how did Danzo escape?" Yakushi Kabuto asked curiously. His forces had nearly been completely destroyed, and he had two Curse Marks on his body. Logically, he should not even have been able to use jutsu.

"It was Izanagi. We can now confirm that Shisui Uchiha’s death was related to Danzo. An Izanagi that lasted that long had to have used a Mangekyō Sharingan."

Tsunade bit her finger as she pondered inwardly. And for Root members to have gone to meet him, Danzo must have used some method to send messages outside during his imprisonment. Tsunade had absolute trust in Kimimaro. Other than Danzo’s subordinates, only her teacher had visited Danzo.

"Hmph, old man, don’t go too far!"

Tsunade slammed her fist onto the Hokage’s desk. Other than Sarutobi Hiruzen, no one else could have gotten close to Danzo, and Danzo had been sealed the day before they set out.

Tsunade wanted to deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen, but this was all merely her speculation. Moreover, there was still the bond of master and disciple between them, so Tsunade did not intend to pursue the matter further this time. If Sarutobi Hiruzen dared pull such petty tricks again, she would not be so polite.

After waiting for a while, Yakushi Kabuto saw that Tsunade’s expression had mostly returned to normal and spoke up. "Tsunade-sama, since you’re back, then these unprocessed documents…"

"Ahem, Kabuto, I still have something to do later. I need to discuss matters concerning the Military Police Force with the clan heads of the Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans. You can handle these documents for now."

Tsunade coughed twice, then turned her face aside and said somewhat guiltily.

After Yakushi Kabuto arrived, she had truly been enjoying a comfortable tenure as Hokage. She handed nearly ninety percent of the trivial matters to Yakushi Kabuto, leaving Tsunade with much more time each day for training, drinking, and even secretly slipping off to Konoha’s casinos for a few rounds.

During her time as Hokage, she had become inseparable from her two capable assistants, Yakushi Kabuto and Kimimaro. If Orochimaru wanted to call them back, Tsunade would go cry to Hyuga Mirai and demand those two back, even if she had to embarrass herself again. Otherwise, she would go on strike too.

And Tsunade had not lied to Yakushi Kabuto. A while later, the heads of the three clans really did arrive at the Hokage’s Office. If she had not remembered the matter of the military police force, Tsunade most likely would not have come to the Hokage’s Office at all. She would have gone to Root to assign the task to Kimimaro, then headed elsewhere to train or visit the Izakaya.

After a while, Hyuga Kiyomi, Inuzuka Shinobu, and Aburame Shibi arrived at the Hokage’s Office.

"Hokage-sama."

After the three greeted Tsunade, she handed each of them a reconstruction proposal for the military police force and said, "Clan heads, I plan to rebuild Konoha’s military police force. However, this force will differ from the Uchiha Military Police Force, with adjustments made to its positions and responsibilities. I now intend to have ninjas from your three clans serve as its members. You may first look over the proposal, then tell me what you think."

Hyuga Kiyomi picked up the reconstruction proposal and began reading it. Since becoming the Hyuga Clan Head, this was the first time she had left the clan compound.

She had spent the previous period handling the clan’s affairs. After the First Elder and Second Elder were buried, the Third Elder no longer dared to speak, Hyuga Hiashi shut himself away, and Hyuga Kiyomi had the support of nearly forty percent of the loyal branch family members. As such, she had managed to settle many clan matters.

The branch family’s Chunin and Jonin had already begun cultivating Ninjutsu such as Revolving Heaven. Some particularly talented Jonin would soon succeed in mastering them. Branch family members who had mastered techniques such as Revolving Heaven had essentially made up for their former shortcomings, greatly improving their strength. Some branch family members with extensive combat experience already possessed the strength of elite Jonin.

The clan members at the Chunin level had improved the most. Ninjutsu such as Revolving Heaven and Air Palm enhanced their strength even more than other Chunin learning A-rank ninjutsu. The Hyuga Clan’s Ninjutsu had all been developed based on the Byakugan and were naturally best suited to them. It was only because they had previously been classified as secret Main Family teachings that branch family ninjas had been unable to learn them.

Hyuga Kiyomi had learned about the formation of the military police force back on the Rain Country battlefield. Now that she had read the detailed proposal, she had even fewer objections.

"Tsunade-sama, the Hyuga Clan agrees to this proposal. In three days, I will select the clan members and have them report to Hokage-sama."

Seeing Hyuga Kiyomi agree so decisively, Inuzuka Shinobu and Aburame Shibi also felt that the new military police force was much better than the old one. They followed suit, saying, "Tsunade-sama, the Inuzuka Clan also approves of this plan."

"The Aburame Clan as well."

Tsunade nodded with a smile. Then she said, "Good. Then I’ll leave the military police force to your three clans. I will also select some ninjas from the village to join later. As for the office location, it has already been renovated."

"Hyuga Clan Head, stay behind."

Tsunade called for Hyuga Kiyomi to remain.

Only after the others had left did Tsunade change how she addressed Hyuga Kiyomi. "Kiyomi, thank you for your help with the military police force. I heard about what happened in the Hyuga Clan. Personally, I think you handled it very well. If you need anything, you can bring it up with me."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. Kiyomi can manage for now. If I need anything, I will certainly seek Tsunade-sama’s help." Hyuga Kiyomi straightened her slender waist and replied to Tsunade in a prim, formal manner.

"If possible, could I ask Tsunade-sama to guide my training?"

"Hm?"

Tsunade was briefly taken aback by the request, then asked, "What about your clan affairs?"

"They have mostly been arranged. From now on, I only need to set aside some time each day to handle clan matters." Hyuga Kiyomi pursed her lips before continuing, "Clan affairs are the responsibility of the clan head, but personally, I would rather become stronger."

"Alright, since you say so." Tsunade nodded. Then she suddenly realized that this gave her another excuse to leave the Hokage’s affairs to Kabuto. As Hokage, maintaining the relationship between the village and the ninja clans was part of her duty.

"Then let’s meet at Training Ground No. 2 tomorrow afternoon. Kiyomi, please call Jonin Kurenai as well. I promised to guide her last time, so it works out perfectly for her to join us."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama."